Oi! You!
by Foxieglove
Summary: This ficlet was the response to a challenge on what would happen if Murtogg and Mullroy met Pintel and Ragetti. Based on spoiler screen caps, Murtogg and Mullroy end up on the same ship as those two. Sit back and enjoy. :P


The sails were full now, sending the Pearl on her way. The ship went smoothly, as to be expected what with a witch aboard. Murtogg didn't get along well with that idea at all. He walked uneasily around a pair of islanders, arguing with each other in their fast native tongues. To his relief, they paid him no mind. He wasn't wearing a red coat, but he still felt as though he'd been branded by the color itself somehow. Guilt by association, you could call it.

Murtogg had seen his partner rush to help secure a line and was currently on the opposite end of the ship. At this leg in the journey, little work was left to be done. All hands were present and his back was aching from fighting the devil's wind to unfurl the sails.

Rolling the kinks out of his shoulders, he sought shade. There was a spot in the shadow of the upper deck, empty aside from a thin pirate sitting atop one of the closed barrels. Said pirate was reading from a book. Murtogg came closer and realized two things. One, that the book was a bible. And two, that the pirate was only reading with one real eye, holding the bible up close to make out the words.

Instantly, sympathy filled Murtogg's heart. Poor chap. The pirate's life looked hard enough, and yet the dear fellow was struggling onward to fill his heart with God's good Word. He leaned against the wood, watching the man. "Fine day, isn't it?" he asked, in friendly manner.

The gangly pirate paused and slowly looked over to Murtogg as if shocked anybody was speaking to him. "I s'pose," he said, awkwardly.

Something about the way he looked was so very familiar. Murtogg frowned, trying to put a finger on it. Mistaking his expression, Ragetti frowned back.

"Wot?" he asked, defensively turning his face. "Ain't never seen nobody with a false eye before?"

"No, no, that isn't it!" Murtogg said, quickly. "I was just . . ." he searched vainly for a way to cover the blunder. "Wonderin' if you needed help reading that?" Murtogg blurted out. At Ragetti's hurt look, he could have smacked himself.

"I can read just fine, thank ye!" he snapped and looked ready to climb off the barrel.

"Ah, no, wait! I didn't mean to offend you. It's just good to see a man reading a bible on this ship, mate. Brings me comfort it does."

Ragetti regarded him suspiciously. "Ye just wanted to watch me readin'?"

"Well, yes." Murtogg felt foolish. "I can leave if it bothers you. Mullroy's probly looking for me."

"Nah, it's allright." Ragetti looked back down at the book, at the page he was still deciphering, at a snails pace due to his limited schooling. "I don't s'pose you could do a favor? Me good eye's got a bit of a strain on it and that's what's makin' blurs outta me letters." he lied. "Could ye tell me that word?" He pointed at it with a grimy finger.

Murtogg leaned over, squinting. ". . . ah, 'increaseth', it says. Ahem. In much wisdom is much grief; and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow." He read.

Rags furrowed his brow thoughtfully. "Well, that ain't much incentive for me to learn, is it?" he muttered to himself. Best try and find a more pleasant section to peruse. He flipped through the pages at random, stopping when he could make out the name of the chapter. "There any on this page what's more of a cheerful nature?" he asked hopefully.

Murtogg scanned the well-worn page and paused as he noticed a little scribble on the side margin where one of the sentences was underlined. It happened to be his personal favorite.

It also happened to be his own handwriting. Murtogg blinked and then looked at Ragetti. Recognition slapped him in the face like the tail end of a live trout.

"Oi!" he said, pointing at the man. "You scoundrel!" He snatched the book away. "This is my bible! It went missin' when you and that other one escaped!"

Ragetti also seemed to realize then just who he was talking to. He scrambled upright, hand going to his cutlass. Though he didn't pull it out. It would be foolhardy to draw it on the deck, what with the Articles in effect. He was no fan of getting flogged. But he wanted his bible back. Ragetti bared his teeth.

"God saw fit for me to have it otherwise he wouldn't have made you forget it on the table under your hat!"

"Under my ha-- so you went rifling through our gear as well!"

"We needed it more than you at the moment! An' tha' again is your fault for dallyin' off instead of guarding us." He paused. Perhaps taunting wasn't the best way to get what he wanted. "Thank ye for that, otherwise we might not 'ave escaped," Rags added, politely.

"Well that's bloody well and good for you! It cost me and Mullroy our promotion and nearly our jobs!"

"Ye would've lost it anyway!" Ragetti said, perplexed. He sensed he was going to lose this battle. "I don't see how us bein' hung on the gallows woulda done nothing to change where you are now!" Murtogg just glared at him, thin-lipped. He stuffed the bible under his arm and started to walk off. "W-Wait!" Ragetti started after him.

Murtogg reeled around to tell the thief to bugger off and paused when he saw Ragetti's wretched expression.

"Ye were gonna read to me a line, aye? At least one before you go off. I promise I won't nick it from you, I have trouble readin' that one anyway. I'll scrounge up another. Just . . . read me one more?"

Murtogg raised an eyebrow, still righteously miffed, but sympathy urged him to open the book at random. Impatient to rattle off the first thing he saw, Murtogg's eye fell upon the first proverb on the page. He read it and felt a sudden rise of shame. Murtogg cleared his throat, fidgeting.

"A man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth." He mumbled, closing the book. Ragetti wrinkled his nose as he thought on it, not sure he liked that one either. Murtogg's thoughts were elsewhere as he stroked the worn leather binding. "Funny. I always used to quote that to Mullroy. He gripes about things you know. About what we can and can't have and why we can't go higher than our current station."

Ragetti nodded, understanding perhaps a bit more than Murtogg realized.

"He was the one most disappointed when we got bad marks for you two escaping. Though I always tell 'im that no matter how bad things get, least we got what we have." He let out a sigh, deeply humbled. Then, to the pirate's disbelief, held out the bible to Ragetti. "You can have it. You've been taking good care of it from the looks of it, and that does you credit."

Delighted, Ragetti took the book and opened it. Murtogg watched as he realized his error and turned it around in his hands, scanning the page lovingly. Too rapidly to actually be reading it.

"Well, 'ta. I best be off to find where Mullroy's kipped off to." He turned to go and was stopped by a hand on his shoulder.

"Wait . . . ye done a right nice thing. An' I feel a little better now that ye gave it to me. If ever ye need it, you can borrow it back." Rags offered. Recovering from his surprise, Murtogg smiled. Ragetti looked down, shyly returning it. "And . . . if you can sometimes help me with words I can't make out . . . due to the small print o' course. Sometimes Pintel doesn't want to read to me. Gives 'im a moral headache, he says."

Murtogg chuckled, having in mind exactly what Ragetti was talking about. His name was shouted then and from the other end, Ragetti heard his own. "See you then," he said cheerfully. Ragetti nodded, hurriedly stowing the book away as he hurried off.

Mullroy was stomping over to him, worked up and looking like he'd been in a row. "Murtogg!" he shouted, not waiting until he was in front of the other man to start ranting. "Ye won't guess who else I just ran into on this bloody ship!"

Tactfully, Murtogg hid his smirk. He didn't have to guess at all.


End file.
